The House Systems

The House system is a feature common to Public schools. The Houses redistribute a large community into smaller, more personal units, and thereby build a sense of loyalty and competition.

The formation of Houses in Bishop Cotton may have occurred during 1910 since the Cotton Mill, 1910 makes a mention of “Puchi teams! Puchi marks!” . Pu-chi means insects. There were 125 students in school then and six teams were formed.

The Pu-chi teams were named Jerrimangalams, Bloodsuckers, Scorpions, White Ants and Cobras. Each team was led by a captain, and boys were grouped as ‘big’, ‘medium sized’ and ‘little’. The Pu-chi teams were in place till 1933.

New houses were formed by combining –

The Scorpions and Cobras as Pettigrew House

The White Ants and Jerrimangalams as Pope House

The Bloodsuckers and Mosquito as Pakenham-Walsh House

These new names honoured the memory of the three pioneers of the school. Each team had a Head and a Captain of Games. In 1956, a fourth House was added which was named after Canon Elphick who was Warden from 1930 – 1955. Many boys volunteered to join the new House and all new admissions to the school automatically were added to this House. In 1996, a fifth House – Thomas House was formed in memory of the late Rev. Lowerth Lewis Thomas by Dr.A.Ebenezer.

Pettigrew House was named after Rev. S. T. Pettigrew, Chaplain of St. Mark’s Cathedral and founder of the school.

Pope House was named after Rev. George Uglow Pope, the first warden of the School, 1871 – 1882.

Pakenham-Walsh House was named after the Rt. Rev. Herbert Pakenham-Walsh in 1933.

Elphick House was formed in 1956 and was named after Rev.Canon Elphick, Warden, from 1930 – 1955. Canon Elphick came to the School from Oxford Brotherhood in Calcutta, India.

Thomas House was formed in memory of the late Rev. Lowerth Lewis Thomas who was the Warden from 1956 to 1970. It was instituted in 1996 by Dr.A.Ebenezer (Former Principal).

Founded in 1865 by Rev. St. Pettigrew, the school is 153 years young and going strong. It is considered by many discerning people to be one of India’s finest schools. Bishop Cotton Boys’ School believes that an educational institution is one where an individual is shaped for all time, where students learn how to work together and be a functional part of society.